Introductions by Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science, National Museum of Natural History
12:30-2:20 p.m. – Island and the Whales *Wildscreen Winner
This stunningly photographed film focuses on the people of the North Sea’s remote Faroe Islands who have survived for centuries on the ocean’s bounty. Most of their food, including native birds and whale meat, still comes directly from the hills and waters around their rocky homeland. But now, mercury in the whales, changes in the environment and anti-whaling activists are affecting their ancient way of life.
2:30-4:30 p.m. – Sea Gypsies
The vessel is Infinity, a 120ft hand-built sailing ketch that plies the Pacific Ocean on a never-ending voyage of nomadic exploration. In early Feb 2014, during the iciest year on record in the Southern Ocean, Infinity and her crew of 16 leave New Zealand on an 8,000 mile pacific crossing to Patagonia, with a stop in Antarctica. Along the way, they will battle a hurricane of ice in the Ross Sea, struggle with compounding mechanical and flooding problems, take on a mission with the radical environmental group Sea Shepherd and tear every sail they have. Followed by a Q & A discussion with the filmmaker Nico Edwards.
5:30-7:00 p.m. – Vamizi: Cradle of Coral
Vamizi is the largest island in the Quirimbas archipelago. Its relative isolation from mainland Mozambique has preserved its natural beauty and wildlife. It has magnificent coral reefs and is a unique breeding ground for whales, dolphins, turtles and sharks. This reef is also the only place in East Africa where “mass spawning” has been observed, which means it is healthy and helps corals, near and far, to reproduce and grow as well as stabilize the ecosystems around it. This fragile realm is however under threat. Followed by a Q & A discussion with Sant Chair for Marine Science at the National Museum of Natural History, Nancy Knowlton, the film’s subject and free diver, William Winram, and producer of the film, Maryanne Culpepper